2025 Conference Schedule and Speakers
9:00 AM
Opening Ceremonies
Priscilla Colón
Conference Director
Founder, Casa Areyto
Co-chair, Ad-hoc Group 1, IDIL 2022-2032
Kasíke-Tekína Ra Jikotea Niaku'no
Co-founder, Wuru Taíno Tekiro'uo
Dr. Gladys Yacely Aponte
Co-founder, Wuru Taíno Tekiro'uo
Akutu Irka Mateo
Sacred Taíno Healing
Bejíke Miguel Sagué, Jr.
Caney Indigenous Spiritual Circle
Jaco Du Toit
Head of UNESCO Office in Kathmandu & Representative to Nepal
Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13)
Chairman, Congressional Hispanic Caucus
Evelyn DeJesus
Executive Vice President, American Federation of Teachers
Ludmila Golovine
President & CEO, MasterWord
10:00 AM
Keynote Presentation:
Celestial Calendar at Tibes Utilized in Support of Social Scheduling
Dr. Shaun Sullivan
President, Anthropological Research Council
10:20 AM
Video Break
Echoes of Our Ancestors
Astrid Justiniano
Director & Editor
Lysaidie Díaz Rosa
Actress
My Ancestors in My Studio: Researching My Taíno Roots
Dr. Leslie C. Sotomayor II
Assistant Professor of Art Education & FDI Scholar, Kutztown University
10:30 AM
Session 2:
Honoring Language and Culture in Education: A Path to Empowerment
Evelyn DeJesus
Executive Vice President, American Federation of Teachers
Víctor Bonilla Santos
Vice President, American Federation of Teachers
President, Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico
Jason Dropik
Executive Director, National Indian Education Association
10:50 AM
Session 3:
Kamishibai y narración de cuentos taínos integrando el lenguaje de señas
María Teresa Marichal Lugo
Emmy Award-winning Actress and Storyteller
Yarett Piñeiro
Founder, Advancement in Sign Language Education & Services CSP
11:10 AM
Session 4:
Profundizando las prácticas STEM en Puerto Rico por la ecolingüística taína
Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera
Professor of Humanities, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
Miosotis Acevedo
Graduate Student & Research Assistant, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
11:30 AM
Session 5:
We Are Connected: Exploring Healthcare Challenges Among Taíno and Other Indigenous Peoples
Dr. Joseph Rosado, MD
Author, Speaker & Physician
11:50 AM
Video Break
What Makes Us Human
Victor Santos
Children's Book Author & Linguist
Official book of the United Nation's International Decade of Indigenous Languages
12:00 PM
Lunch & Video Break
Sacred Taíno Song Keepers
Akutu Irka Mateo
Sacred Taíno Healing
Diez Hura
Coordinator & Teacher, Sacred Taíno Song Keepers
Introducing the "Taíno World" Educational Space
Tau, dak'anúlia Tanamá. (Hello, my name is Butterfly.) Click me to explore the Taíno World educational space.
Ho’okupu: A Hip Hop Anthology of Hawaiian History
Maile Naehu "Queen Maile"
Co-Founder, Ka Hale Hoaka School of Hawaiian Knowledge
Hebeyo'no (The Ancestors)
al colibrí
Poet, Scholar & AI ethics Professor, Queen’s University
12:30 PM
Session 6:
Lingo Bingo and the Indigenous Wisdom of Interconnection
Thomas Gallagher
Interdisciplinary Artist
12:50 PM
Session 7:
Animando el taíno como lengua diaspórica
Dr. John Villavicencio
Assistant Professor, College of Business Administration, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
Vanesa del Pilar Segura Sánchez
Licensed Social Worker & Graduate Student, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
1:10 PM
Session 8:
Language Transmission and Revitalization in the Home
Misael Itzep
Mayan K’iche’ Interpreter,
MasterWord
Winston K. Scott, PhD
Director, The Mayan Languages Preservation Project
1:30 PM
Session 9:
Decolonizing Our Language Mindset Within Taíno Language Revitalization Work
Kasíke-Tekína Ra Jikotea Niaku'no
Co-Founder, Wuru Taíno Tekiro’uo
Dr. Gladys Yacely Aponte
Co-Founder, Wuru Taíno Tekiro’uo
1:50 PM
Video Break & Sponsor Highlight
“Tainonaíki for Beginners” Digital Course
Priscilla Colón
Conference Director
Founder, Casa Areyto
Co-chair, Ad-hoc Group 1, IDIL 2022-2032
Jennifer Weston
Executive Director, 7000 Languages
Kiwari Taino Itai (Queer Taíno Family)
Diez Hura
Founder, Kiwari Taino Itai
2:00 PM
Sponsor Highlight
Winston K. Scott, PhD
Director, The Mayan Languages Preservation Project
2:05 PM
Session 10:
He alo a he alo: Reestablishing Connections Through Indigenous Cultural Exchange
Noʻel Kaʻiako Tagab-Cruz
Associate Professor of Hawaiian Studies and Coordinator of I Ola Hāloa Center for Hawaiʻi Life Styles, Hawaiʻi Community College
Hauʻoli Viritua
Nauane Program Coordinator of I Ola Hāloa Center for Hawaiʻi Life Styles, Hawaiʻi Community College
Drew Kapp
Assistant Professor of Geography and Department Chair of Social Science and Public Services, Hawaiʻi Community College
2:25 PM
Sponsor Highlight
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2:30 PM
Session 11:
El batey de los 5 elementos
Justino Narváez
Community Educator
Manuel José Martínez
Architect
2:50 PM
Closing Ceremony
Kasíke Jorge Baracutay Estévez
Higuayagua Taíno of the Caribbean
Dr. José Barreiro
Elder, Nación Taína & Smithsonian Institution Scholar-Emeritus
Priscilla Colón
Conference Director
Founder, Casa Areyto
Co-chair, Ad-hoc Group 1, IDIL 2022-2032
Kasíke-Tekína Ra Jikotea Niaku'no
Co-founder, Wuru Taíno Tekiro'uo
Dr. Gladys Yacely Aponte
Co-founder, Wuru Taíno Tekiro'uo
